Catalog
2 Dollars
| Issuer | Treasury of Liberia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1876-1880 |
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| Value | 2 Dollars |
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| Obverse description | At upper centre, a vignette of a sailing ship at sea with a palm tree to the right, framed by an arc bearing the title "REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA" flanked by the notations "RECEIVABLE" and "FOR DUTIES". The denomination "TWO DOLLARS" appears in vertical letterpress panels on both left and right margins. The body of the note carries a handwritten promise-to-pay text, a manuscript date referencing Monrovia, a serial number in the upper left, and two manuscript signatures with their respective titles below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA RECEIVABLE FOR DUTIES ON DEMAND AT THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT THE TREASURER OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA WILL PAY TO BEARER TWO DOLLARS TWO DOLLARS |
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| Comments |
Liberia's Treasury notes of this period occupy an odd position in West African monetary history. The republic had been issuing paper currency since the 1850s, but chronic underfunding and the absence of a central bank meant these notes depended entirely on government credibility — which fluctuated badly. By the late 1870s, Liberia's finances were under serious strain from debt obligations tied to an 1871 London loan that had been catastrophically mismanaged, leaving the Treasury in no position to guarantee redemption with any confidence.
Surviving examples from this series are genuinely scarce, almost certainly because circulation volumes were low and public trust in paper lower still.